杏MAP导航

By Vatican News

Catholics in Bulgaria make up about one per cent of the population, in an overwhelmingly Orthodox nation. Around ten thousand faithful gathered in the predominantly Catholic town of Rakovski, in southern Bulgaria, on Monday afternoon to see and hear 杏MAP导航 Francis speak to them about a theme very close to his heart: seeing with the eyes of faith.

God gets involved

“God’s people learn to see…and be guided by the power of the resurrection”, began the 杏MAP导航. While recognizing there will always be pain and injustice, they do not “shrink back in fear”, but courageously “take the first step in finding creative ways of directly testifying that Love is not dead”. The People of God get involved, said the 杏MAP导航, because, in Jesus, “God Himself gets involved”.

God not worried about details

杏MAP导航 Francis shared his experience of visiting a refugee camp earlier in the morning. He spoke of how every person there is recognized as a child of God, regardless of ethnicity or religious confession, and how there is “no need to ask for a curriculum vitae”. The 杏MAP导航 said he met many Christians “who have learned to see with God’s own eyes”, a God who is not worried about details.  

God is not a pessimist

杏MAP导航 Francis continued with a quote by 杏MAP导航 Saint John XXIII: “I never met a pessimist who managed to do something good”. The Lord is the first not to be pessimistic. Seeing with the eyes of faith means not spending your life “pinning labels”, said 杏MAP导航 Francis. Rather, we should try to create conditions “in which every person can feel loved”.

Living for others

杏MAP导航 Francis then commented on the three testimonies that preceded the afternoon encounter. After a family told him how their parish was a second home where they found strength and support, the 杏MAP导航 confirmed that every parish should be “a home in the midst of homes”. After a priest described how it is people who help him become a good minister of God, the 杏MAP导航 said “a priest without his people loses his identity”.

A home with open doors

Responding to the testimony of a woman religious, 杏MAP导航 Francis spoke of the “Church that is a Mother”. She does not offer “ready-made answers”, he said, but “makes her children’s problems her own”. The 杏MAP导航 described the Church as “a family among families…open to faith, hope and love for the Lord. A home with open doors”.

Facing challenges

杏MAP导航 Francis invited Bulgaria’s Catholic community to be “bold and creative”, and to find ways to touch the hearts of young people, especially, supporting and accompanying them through “new and imaginative efforts in our pastoral outreach”.

“Let us not be afraid to meet new challenges”, concluded the 杏MAP导航. Just make sure that everyone has “a community of faith to support them”, and “always listen with one ear to the Gospel and the other to the heart of your people”.